Unexpected
by CrackerTales
Summary: It started as a a harmeless game. A stupid bet between the young warriors on the NekoHanten
1. Chapter 1

Good Day, everybody, I hope you are having a wonderful time!

Gosh! Is been so long since I came here. Been busy, and stuff, and, in reality, I am still busy but I remember how much I enjoy this anime (since it´s part of my childhood) and how much I like Mousse as a character so I decied to give it a shot (or a two shot, this is a two chapter story).

Before starting I would like to clarify what we all know, Ranma 1/2 is not mine nor I´m making money.

Another note could be that you´ll notice I used both their "Chinese" and "Japanese" names in the story, this would depend of the language they are using at the moment.

now, go ahead and enjoy

 **Unexpected**  
 **By CrackerTales**

Amazon law is a strange and cruel one. Theirs was indeed a strange and fascinating culture, and its fame had travel to places far, far away. To many ears, and cultures, and men.

There were those who feel complete horror upon the word "amazon", they had heard stories of how they were, how they killed and fight, how they mistreated and abuse, how they considered high education unnecessary. This people have heard of their barbaric ways, but knew nothing of their wisdom and heritage.

There were also men who heard Amazons were dominated by woman and couldn´t bare the idea. These men often ventured into China, into the dangers of the problematic tribe with one purpose in mind: put all those women on the places they belong. Needless to say, many were brutally defeated and the red of their own blood was the last thing they ever saw.

Yet, amazons did not think little of men. They acknowledge them as strong and respected those who honorably come to them to fight and win. Those were to become husbands and fathers of the tribe and would be treated as that with all due respect. It was whinny, annoying men they disliked.

Men like him.

If there was one person in the world that could drive Shampoo crazy was Mousse. Childhood friend and foe of her personal interests. He wasn´t a bad person, she knew as much. He was probably a better human being that herself! Or so she had heard. Actually, she heard a lot of things about him; good things and bad, and she focused on the bad because it made her life easier and less guilty. He was too bubbly and spontaneous, too jealous and aggressive. He got into battle to quickly… He was too correct… too easy to please. Too selfish and arrogant and yet, too kind and innocent. He was too childish. And Shampoo used this excuse to reject all his advances.

"Shampoo needs a man, not a boy" and she would walk away leaving him with a sore heart, a painful sting on his chest; head and moral low, but determined as always. He never lost hope, not when she announced her spontaneous engagement, not when she did all to seduce Ranma, not when she was cruel and cold to him and crushed his soul and heart. This was his more admirable and annoying trait, his perseverance. And It was precisely that that got them both in trouble with Cologne. His stupid perseverance! His resistance against defeat.

As many other days, Ranma and Akane had come to the Neko Hanten to fetch food. This always made Shampoo smile for it meant she could see her beloved fiancé and show him she was a better cook and future wife than that insipid girl he hanged around with. In fact, she was better than her in everything and still he kept her by his side, not together but close, very close, and Shampoo could not understand that. This was why the amazon had to take advantage of every opportunity and established her dominion over the young martial artist. It could have been an easy task, for who wouldn't be afraid of such a terrible warrior? One that could cold blooded get rid of anything and anyone if she wanted! She was powerful, strong and beautiful! She should be able to get anything! Nothing should get on her way! And yet he did, along with some other things, but he was always the main problem.

The moment she was fast on her feet and threw herself into the arms of the man she loved, she should have known he was up to something. He always was. And this time he choose attack at the exact same time he was supposed to watch the stove.

Now it might be right to make clear that the boy is no cook at all, he can do a descent bowl of ramen, but not good enough to be sell at the café; besides, people didn´t come to the place for his food, they came for Shampoo´s. The task he had was simple and easy… and so was hers. As soon as she saw that poor excuse of a prospect she told him to watch over the pressure cooker, not the best thing to ask a guy who is hopelessly in love with you if you plan to flirt with another man right on his nose.

Soon, Saotome was soaking wet in a warm brown substance and ready to fight the man with the dark long hair, and the cooker was forgotten.

But it was not a long battle, Cologne returned just in time to give both young men a very deserved knock over the head for causing disturbance on her restaurant and sent them to fight outside but they never got pass the door. A loud, shattering , explosion-like-sound was heard in the kitchen. Both Shampoo and Mouse turned instinctively to look at each other, one mad, the other trying to hide his fear and worry. Cologne went quickly to source of the noise and soon after she was yelling at them. By this point Ranma and Akane had flee, afraid they would be taken as responsible for the little incident.

"How can you let this happen?!" yelled the old woman as she pointed the walls and ceiling covered with the disgusting remains of a meal

"Mousse should be more careful! This would be fine if he pay attention!" said the young lady crossing her arms upon her chest and slightly turning around to shake off all blame

"My girl" responded Cologne "If I recalled correctly I asked you to do this. You are as responsible as him"

The girl eyes went wide

"But, Great Grandmother! Airen came and…"

"You cannot keep using Ranma as an excuse, Shampoo, I know he is important, but your job is important too! It is preparing you to be a better person, the great woman you´ll be one day" The girl closed her mouth, but defiance still played on her features

"Yes, great-grandmother" she said at last swallowing down her anger and pride. Cologne nodded and walked past her

"As for you, boy" she said and he straighten up at her voice "Clearly you would not become a great woman, but you will become something and is necessary that you stay useful and focused!" and she hit him once again with her staff over the head, he released a childish wimp

"Why?"

"Stop complain! Both of you! And start scrubbing, I want this place spotless in the morning!"

"Great. Grandmother! This is…" but the old woman didn´t listen and left the kitchen saying she was too old and tired.

 **:::::  
**

* * *

"This is gross" said Mousse as he took a piece of the failed meal out of the wall "What kind of meat is this anyway?"

"Duck" answered the girl with a stern face and no emotion on her voice. He threw the piece of meat away and climb down the box he used as step

"That´s disgusting" he commented looking at her, she just scuffed and turn her face around

"Shampoo bought duck alive at market, he wanted to run away, he as stubborn… must be a duck thing" He didn´t answered "later, I thought 'What if this is Mousse?' and I killed duck"

The nearly blind boy froze on his place for a moment

"If Mousse is no good help, maybe he is good meal"

Once again, he didn´t answered but stood, for a moment, stuck on his feet. Soon, after letting go a breath he was holding, he tried to walk away

"I… I think I´m gonna throw up" he said on his way out. He was stop by her voice

"Shampoo is only kidding" her voice sounded teasing on his ears "Shampoo never kill Mousse… on purpose"

He sighed and turned around to look at her, she was playing uninterested with the sponge on her hands

"Still is rude to eat duck around here, Shampoo, What would you said if I was to eat cat?"

"Cat is no for eating, dumb duck!"

"Oh, I bet I can make a mean cat stew?" he replied under his breath

She looked at him and twisted her mouth considering for a moment taking his words seriously. Soon, she decided he was just annoyed by her. That had never happened before

"Shampoo never wanted to, Client asked for Duck"

"It´s not in the menu…"

"You tell client that, client always right, no?"

He remained quiet as he returned to scrub the walls once again. At the corner of her eye, the girl saw with some admiration how well he could performed the task without passing out, Ducks were no longer mere animals for him anymore… or for anybody there.

"It´s sad that his little guy died for nothing"

Shampoo returned to work buffing "Stupid Mousse!" she said sharply

"What now?"

"This is Mousse´s fault" she said throwing the sponge at him "Shampoo was planning to go with Airen tonight!"

"Did you even listened what he said before? He told you he needed food for the road! They were going out town!"

"Shampoo would follow!" and she asked for her sponge by stretching out her hand. He shook his head and give it back. They worked in silence for the next couple of minutes

"You have to admit" he said quietly after "that he looked kinda funny soaking on that stock"

"Stock?" she asked turning around to see him

"Yes, one I left resting in the sun for a month" as soon as this words had leave his lips, he was hit with a soap bar on the back of his head. He complained, but soon after acknowledged it was worth it. Shampoo scrubbed the grease and meat out of the wall. She scrubbed and cleaned with annoyance and force while mumbling something under her breath, after a couple of minutes, she stopped suddenly and Mousse noticed she was giggling

"Is everything all right?" he asked confused and with his guard up, just in case

"Airen did looked funny" she said smiling "and violent girl was very upset"

After this, he allowed himself to chuckle "Thanks for not being mad" he said to her smiling

"Shampoo is mad" she replied losing her good mood. This sudden change made poor Mousse take a step back in caution. Seeing him like this, made her snort "Stupid Mousse!" she said smiling and he let his guard down

"I would say I am sorry, but why lying" he commented not wanting them to go into a uncomfortable silence "Saotome will smell like rotten stock for days…"

"violent girl will not get close!"

And they both laughed, for different reasons, but they laughed together and that was very, very rare for them.

Shampoo managed to stop her giggling all together, yet in her eyes still was playing a little sparkle and Mousse noticed it when she searched for his gaze

"I should tell you" she said in her native tongue "that dad says hello. He called this morning"

"oh… thanks" he exclaimed a little threw off "I appreciate that he remembers me"

"Stupid!" she cried slapping the back of his head "We are friends since we´re three!"

He saw her as she intended to go back to work, her hands caressing her hair as she tried to tied it up in a ponytail, she notice his confused gaze and clarify she didn't want to get duck on her hair. He snorted.

"What?"

"Is duck really that terrible? I read they are wonderful birds"

"For stew, maybe"

And he shook his head but said nothing, only sighed. They returned to work.

"So" he said suddenly texting the waters "Friends?"

"Don´t make a big deal about it, Duck boy!"

"I won´t… I´ll try! It´s just that…"

The girl threw her sponge to the bucked and turn around to look at him. Her eyes were cold as he always saw them and a chilling sensation travel all the way through his back

"Listen, You are incredibly annoying and stubborn, and I don´t want to marry you!" she said harshly "But it doesn´t mean I don´t appreciate you"

The boy tilted his head slightly to the right, very similar as he would do if he was on his cursed form. She smiled for she understood well what he wanted to say. When you have a curse such as theirs, you learn to communicate with your bare expressions

"Appreciate…." he whispered after a minute for himself

"Yes" answered the girl "why are you even surprised? We use to hang out a lot back in China! That was of course before you loved me"

"I…" he said confused "I have always loved you…"

"You weren´t this possessive jerk back home!"

"That was before you got a fiancé!" he snapped and let himself slip through the wall and into the floor "Man! I hate Amazon Law!"

"Watch your words!" she scolded remembering the pride she felt for her heritage and customs "You just said that because you are too weak to fight me"

She crossed her arms in front of her chest in a proud fashion and waited to his answer. When it never came, she picked up the sponge and returned to her wall. At this rate they will never finish the task.

"You know that´s not true" she froze at the sound of his voice. it was uncharacteristically low and sure "You know I CAN overpower you"

"Then do it!" she said standing up quickly as she slammed the sponge once again into the bucket. She faced him with defiance on her eyes and a growing anger inside her gut "Come on, fight me! Show me what you got! Knock me off! Break my bones if you dare!"

"What the hell do you want from me?" he asked in a barely audible voice

"That´s what I ask you!"

"I love you…"

"Then prove it!" she snapped "You always talk about this love but you have never done a thing about it! You are just a weak and annoying all-talk pest…"

This was his turn to snap at her

"WHAT? Do you want me to hurt you? and what for? So you can hate me for the rest of your life?" he could feel the tears forming on his eyes. He took his gaze away even if it was useless, he always have been the weak one between the two of them… and he knew it.

"Why do you do this, Mu Tsu?" she said out of frustration "we were having fun!"

"I am sorry…"

"I actually found your little prank funny even if it was extremely childish"

He chuckled at the statement but refused to face her just yet. Silence fell while she observed his figure noticing the broken spirit he was. She bit her lower lip and tried to decide if her next move was a good idea or the worst one so far

"Wanna know what I miss most from home?" she asked still hesitant and offering him a comforting smile he didn´t even looked

"What?"

"Mu Tsu"

This made him look up confused. She smiled out of pity at the sight of fresh shredded tears. He on his own behalf, was completely lost

"What?"

"Shampoo doesn´t like this you!" she explained returning to her broken Japanese " my friend was fun person!"

"He panicked" he answered lowly "and he is mostly desperate"

"Well, Shampoo doesn't like him like that!" she cried throwing a little tantrum "Tell Mousse to come back and behave."

"He could come back" he replied after considering the petition for a while "but for a price"

"Shampoo won´t marry him…"

"Is not that!" he was quick to clarify "All you need to do is stop being such a bitch"

And to be sincere, she had always been kind of a bitch, but she never was so aggressive. She did turned his advances down, she did called him dumb or annoying, but she never treated him like garbage or a lower life form. She even protected him once in a while, if necessary… when other kids will mock him for having bad eye sight. She understood back then it wasn´t fair because if wasn't his fault. What she never understood is why that stupid habit of never wear the freaking glasses.

So, yeah, she was a bitch, a selfish and childish one but he never verbalized it.

Then she slapped him. He had never insulted her

"How dare you?!" back to Chinese again

"You said you want your friend back, right? Well I want mine back too!"

Her hand curled on a fist. It sounded fair

"Fine!" she said throwing her arms "But we have to be subtle, if start treating you nice just like that, people may think I am up to something"

"Ok" he said standing up "Let´s do this: let´s keep being insufferable to each other when people is around for the sake of normalcy!"

"Sounds fine"

"But" he continued "If we were to be on our own let´s talk about things that have nothing to do with Ranma or the law or marriage"

The girl observed him studying his expressions and twisting her mouth as she considered it

"Just you and me talking about stupid things like movies?"

"Yes"

"And you promise not to tried to woo me?"

"I can´t stop loving you, but you have my word"

She bit her thumb never breaking eye contact with him, This was making him nervous

"All right, Duck Boy" she said after a short moment "We got a deal" and she shook his hand. He smiled at her and sighed relieved.

"So…" he tried to make conversation after, but changing subjects just like that was not as easy as he thought "What are you up to?"

"We have to clean this mess"

"Oh… right" he said mentally slapping himself

"We should clean the ceiling" suggested the girl ignoring his little moment of awkwardness

"We would need a ladder" he replied "The box is too small to help us reach it"

Shampoo thought about their options for a moment. It was past 2 in the morning and she was getting tired. All she wanted was to finish there and going to sleep

"Stand still and whatever happens don't lose balance!" she ordered and before he could ask why she started climbing him

"Ow, Xian Pu! Careful!" but she didn´t paid any attention to him till she was standing on his shoulders

"Give me your sponge" she ordered "I got this!"

 **:::::  
**

* * *

After a month of that silly deal of theirs, things went more smoothly that both of them have expected. By day, nothing changed, she would go out to search Ranma and he would childishly try to followed her, sometimes with success. But at night, when the café was closed and the 'old mummy' was fast asleep, they would clean up together and they would talk about their past, or the weather, or stupid things like zombies

"I still don´t get why you like them so much" said the girl cleaning one of the tables

"They are cool"

"They are disgusting!"

"They are not supposed to be pretty, Xian Pu, they are meant to be fun" he stated sure of himself and nodded in self agreement. The beautiful girl rolled her eyes

"What´s fun about being chased by a brain eating monster?"

He shook his head and sighed. he knew she disliked monsters and monster movies, he knew beforehand she would never agree to watch a marathon on the horror channel with him.

"It would never happen anyway" he said defeated "People like it because is crazy"

Shampoo stopped scrubbing

"But we do face a lot of strange threats. Who says a zombie apocalypse could never happen here"

He remained silence for a minute. Her voice had been so steady and gloom he thought for a moment she was seriously concerned about it. He only smiled when she did.

"Well, if that ever happens" he said trying to sound cool "I have an emergency plan" and she tried to stifle a laugh. It was just ridiculous.

"Is all clean" he said enjoying the chuckles "we better go to sleep"

"Wait!" she said an he froze on his place "How long did you said this marathon is? Maybe I can sit through one movie"

And he mentally high fived himself.

 **::::::  
**

* * *

They didn´t watch one movie, they keep watching until they decided it was too risky to stay awake till sun rise. Cologne would have be up soon and neither of them wanted to hear the same old traditions speech she gave them once in a while. Long ago, Mousse had joked once about the old rag brainwashing Shampoo on hating him and the girl got offended, but never discard the idea of being influenced by the old matriarch. This was the main reason they keep the whole "deal" secret even from her and it seemed that so far she did not suspected a thing.

True, she was sharp and perceptive for her age, but they were young and resourceful. They have learned to switch between moods as soon as they sense her (or any other presence) getting close. I wasn´t that hard actually, Mousse was still annoying and Shampoo still found herself being completely done with him. The difference now was that the girl´s scolding, and the boy´s overly dramatic tantrums, were more a game than an actual thing. And they had successfully kept this strange fallacy for almost a month.

But you should never underestimate the old rag. She suspect of something because she knew something was off. She couldn´t place her finger on it but she just knew. And so she observed the young un ones under her care. She watched them go and come, taking orders and delivering them. All seemed normal. A client would try to ask Shampoo on a date, Mousse would get mad, and the girl would yell at him for mistreating a client and sticking his nose on her life. All regular stuff. The old woman was about to return to work when she noticed her granddaughter walking silently to where he was cleaning the mess he himself had made. Curiosity got the best of the woman and being as sly and quiet as she could, she got to be close enough to them to listen to their conversation but far enough to stay hidden

"I´ve been thinking about it" she hear shampoo saying in Chinese, and she saw the expecting gaze of the boy… and she braced for whatever was coming next

"Kuno would be the first one to fall" she said with a stern face. He chuckled and nodded

"That would be a very narcissistic zombie" he replied and the girl slapped the back of his head before leaving. Cologne was left more confused than before.

 **:::::  
**

* * *

"I really should clean the pans again…"

"Don´t be ridiculous! They are spotless"

"Well, yeah…but…"

"You just want an excuse not to watch this movie with me!"

"I´d love to watch grass growing with you, Xian Pu, but, a tragedy?"

"Come on! I just found it on a travelling market and had to buy it" she said trying to keep it down, great grandmother was fast asleep, but you´ll never know "I don´t want to watch this alone!"

Her eyes met his with a childish spark. He lowered his gaze so he won´t be too distracted by her eyes

"I´m not really into tragedy…"

Her face became stiff and grumpy. With a fast movement she grabbed the front of his shirt and drag him into the TV room

"If I sat through those zombie movies, you´re gonna watch my movie!"

"Xian Pu…"

"Stop being such a baby, Mu Tsu!"

"Don´t… don´t act like you didn´t like them" and he felt the ever familiar slap on his head

"Stupid Duck" she said and pressed play.

 **:::::  
**

* * *

He did like the movie.

Better said, he loved the movie.

The next day, Shampoo noticed how less energetic he was and how uninterested he looked while taking orders from the clients. At one point, when he was coming back to the kitchen with empty bowls and cups, the girl met him at the door, and with an innocent look she whispered these words into his ear

"So sad when girl died"

And kept that playful smile when she saw the tears running free under his thick glasses.

 **::::::  
**

* * *

"Ranma! You take Shampoo on a date, yes?" she said almost suffocating the boy who unsuspectingly had been eating on his home

"Shampoo… what are you doing here?"

"Ah?" she exclaimed surprised "you not miss Shampoo?" and she blinked twice

"Well…" and the boy could never finish the statement for he was attacked with chains and knives

"Hands off my Shampoo, idiot!"

This was just what Ranma needed, a little mindless sparing with the duck boy should be the perfect distraction to keep Shampoo of his body and Akane looking at him with murdering eyes. Too bad the matched ended before starting.

With a quick movement, the amazon girl took the chains on her hands and drag the boy to where they were

"Mousse!" she yelled "What you doing here?"

"I… I been looking for you"

"Well, you found Shampoo… now leave!"

The boy shoulders fell down

"Are you still mad at me?"

And her answer was to cross her arms and turn around

"I SWEAR IT WAS NOT MY FAULT!" he whined and screamed like spoiled child in a tantrum, but the girl remained unmoved " SHAMPOO! LISTEN TO ME!"

She didn´t listen, instead she punched the boy so hard she sent him straight to the pond. After all, it was easier to ignore his frenetic quacks than his words

"Told Mousse not to bother" she said more to herself than to him. The Tendo house remained silenced during the whole familiar scene they witnessed

"What are you doing here, Shampoo?" asked annoyed the younger Tendo sister unhappy to see the Chinese girl so late at her house

"TV is broken" said the amazon and went to hug Ranma once again.

 **::::::  
**

* * *

They soon realized they could not depend on television. So they searched for another options to spare time after work

"why don´t we rise the bet?" asked Shampoo analyzing her cards. Her playmate was unreadable behind his glasses

"speak up"

"If I win" started the girl "Beside doing the dished for a month, you´ll have to give me whatever you got on that robe"

"We are getting personal, huh?" reply Mousse taking a new card and smirking a little

"I just thought the first offer was a little too lame" then, she took the card he dropped

"Ok, then, but I want something too if I win"

"What?"

"Can I asked for anything?"

"No date"

"it is not that" he said hiding behind the cards

"What then?"

He considered his options as she watched him impatiently expecting anything

"A hug"

"No" she answered quickly

"Come on!" he complained "I´m not asking for nothing romantic! Just a little friendly hug!"

"Stupid duck boy!" exclaimed the girl pouting. The only chuckled

"Why you do that?"

"what?"

"Why you use Japanese all of sudden"

"Shampoo felt like it!"

He shook his head but made no commentary. He knew she was avoiding him and his offer

"What do you say then?"

"I suppose it´s fair" said her back in Chinese. He smiled

"Ok, What you got?"

"Full house" replied her showing her game. He took a good look of it and then his eyes traveled to his own cards. He smile on his lips had left, and a frown was wrinkling his forehead

"You won" he said defeated as he dropped his cards into the table. The girl clapped childishly in celebration

"Don´t give me a thing!" she said when she saw him searching inside his large sleeves

"But I thought you wanted…"

"Yes" she cut him off "And they are all mine, but you will have them… for safe keeping"

And he smiled

 **::::::  
**

* * *

"I told you, Ranma is cute but not the brightest"

"I thought we were not to talk about him"

"But I am making fun of him!"

The young man put the dried dishes away as he considered the reality of the situation. Those were words he never thought he would hear from his beloved. He turned to her and silently asked her to explain

"Didn´t you hear me?" she buffed annoyed "I said he is not bright"

"Well, I thought that was an understanding" said the boy handing her a wear-out piece of cloth. She put it away on a drawer and jumped to sit on the bar.

"Besides" he said leaning on the very same bar she was "I heard his name and stopped paying attention…"

"Stupid"

"Your 'fiancé' " said Mousse ironically "May be strong, and, I accept it, clever at times but is not the sharpest one"

"Oh?" answered the girl arching her pouting a little "And I suppose you are the sharpest around here?"

"Smarter than Saotome? Yes"

"You think too high of yourself, duck boy!" and she lightly slapped the back of his head "I you were so smart you would have win me over years ago"

These words made his little playful smile disappears. Shampoo frowned on confusion wondering why he suddenly got upset

"You know that is not a brains matter…"

"No…"

"It shouldn't be brawn´s either" he interrupted her and she rested in silence for a moment

"That´s not what I was going to say…"

"Then what?" and then she realized he was close, so close she was sure he could hear her breathing "Don´t tell me you like his charming personality and his loyalty to you"

She unlock her eyes from his and turned to where the stairs were for she thought her great grandmother was about to get in any minute

"I…" she said not looking at him or his clear questioning eyes "I don´t want to talk about him right now"

And he stepped back, sensing something was making her uncomfortable. The idea of being him, made his stomach twist.

"Who is it then?" she asked after realizing the old woman was not around "Who is the smartest person around?"

"Nabiki Tendo" he answered as he put the cups away

 **:::::::  
**

* * *

"So, when is the mummified ghoul coming back?"

He felt a punch over the head shortly after

"Don´t speak about great grandmother like that" scolded the girl. He complained audibly but she ignored him "She should be back by Friday morning. She said she needed to do something…"

"And when is she leaving?"

"Tomorrow at sunrise"

"Should… should we be worried?"

She remained silent thinking on the question

"Why should we? We… are the same as always"

He didn´t said a thing, instead he stretched his arm to reach the bottle resting on the table. The girl twisted her mouth on a disapproving fashion

"You should stop drinking"

"I am fine" he said filling his glass "This is good" he said after drinking it all in one gulp

"It tastes horrible but feels good"

"Stupid duck" said the girl in a quiet voice and he chuckled

"What did I do now?"

"Mousse is getting drunk" she said switching to Japanese "He´ll be sick tomorrow and won´t help Shampoo"

"for a moment I thought you were worried about me… cheers" and he drank another. Shampoo stared at him in a mix of worry and disgust

"Why are you drinking anyway?" she asked in Chinese "Is it… is it because of me?"

"if I drank every time for your sake I would be an alcoholic" and this made her feel somehow terrible

"then…"

"client complained" he explained while pouring another glass "he said this was bad… and hell he was right… but I can stop"

The girl stood up without saying a word and walked quickly to the kitchen. After a moment, she came back to him with a streaming cup on her hands

"that´s enough" she said placing the cup in front of him and taking the bottle on her hands "drink this"

"What´s this"

"Coffee"

He shook his head

"Nah, I don't feel like it" and rested his head on the table "I am so tired"

"You are drunk!" and his childish giggles annoyed her.

"Mu Tsu, I am this close to drag you to an ice-cold bathtub if that would bring you back to your senses"

"You´ll have a drunk duck then"

"wanna bet?" She said reaching for him to take him up stairs in a not so gentle way

"Wait, wait… I can walk for myself" but the moment he tried taking one step, he felt face first on the restaurant´s polished floor "Ow"

"Stupid Duck"

He replied nothing. He turned around and lied down looking at the ceiling

"I broke my glasses…"

"Idiot"

"Has the ceiling always been this color?"

She sighed and sat down next to him

"Yes"

"I think we should do something with it... what about a *hic* drawing of a cat… there?"

"Where?"

"There!" he said pointing out again. She had to lie down with him to see better

"No" she said sharply "Ranma will never came back if we do…"

"That… that´s the idea"

She slapped his chest half annoyed, half amused. He started to chuckle

"Keep it down!" she order "You´ll wake her up!"

"Who cares?" he whispered facing her way, with a big smile on his lips

"You should! If great grandmother sees us like this…"

"You´ll blame me as always an that´s it…" he exclaimed rolling his eyes as it was a common thing

"We shouldn´t be awake this late…"

"But I am having fun!" he said gladly not taking his eyes form her. And she had to accept she was having fun too. Even if she didn´t told.

She felt this thrilling sensation inside of her, it made her anxious and uneasy. But also made her want to stay there risking it all. It was the excitement of the mere idea of getting caught, or barely escaping the punishment. She wonder what would it be. A month cleaning the greasy pots? A week without delivering to Ranma? A day in her cursed form?

She snorted at her own thoughts. There was no way the punishment would be so mild. Especially when she was lying on the floor so close to a drunk Mousse. How was she going to explain it? 'He fell and I an keeping company' it was ridiculous

"What´s so funny?"

she haven´t even realized she was giggling.

"Shhh" he scolded "we´ll get caught" he said stretching the last word I the lowest volume he could.

She turn to face him. His head was resting on his hand, his long dark hair fell messy on the floor and a strong smell of alcohol was surrounding him, and his eyes were fixed on her, with the same devotion and fire as always. She reached for his glasses and took them off his face

"This are not good anymore" she said putting then aside "They are ruined…"

"Doesn´t matter" he said shrugging "I have more".

She stood still. They both did. But she was more aware of everything. If the next morning she would have to explain it all, she would blame the thrill of having her great grandmother catching her and the surrealism of the situation, she would said it was the heath on that summer night, or how tired she was… she would said it was his fault. Yeah, she would said he started it all… she had it all figured…

She was conscious of her actions, too conscious. She had been fighting with these unwanted emotions for the past couple weeks, she knew, or better said, expected them to be momentary, unimportant and stupid… and yet she reached for him. He didn´t moved, nor he questioned why she was doing that. He just let her lead him as she brought him closer, and he let her kiss him, and he kissed her back. He didn´t even thought of her motives, he didn´t want to know.

The kiss, supposed to be just teasing and short, became longer, sweet and tender on both sides. when she pull back he felt the lack of her and reach down for her lips once more.

But she stopped him

"It… meant nothing" she said whispering "It was all the alcohol"

"You weren´t drinking" he replied sounding more sober than ever. She felt her face getting hot and red. And a knot on her gut.

 **::::::  
**

* * *

 **End of part one**

 **::::::**

* * *

When I was younger, I never liked Shampoo that much, it was until later when I realized it was because I wanted her to look at the poor lovestruck duck boy who adored her. Good thing about fanfiction, whatever I want to happen, can happen.

Still I hope this was all in character and on point.

I would love to hear from you and remember to tell me if you notice any grammatical mistake (those typos are sneaky, and the "ed" at the end of some regular verbs in past tense often decide not to show up, shame on them).

Thank you for your attention. I really hope you enjoyed your visit


	2. Chapter 2

Good Day, beautiful people!

The usual dissclaimer, I do not own the characters nor I am making money.

Also an apology for taking so long, I really have no excuse that could justify such a long wait.

I hope you enjoy your readl! I´ll meet you at the end for more notes

 **Unexpected Pt2**

 **By CrackerTales**

The very next day, she listen to great grandmother instructions, wished her a good trip, and braced for whatever the day had planned for her, after all they were left alone on the Café for two days.

The situation had, of course, a silver lining: with Cologne away, there would be no one who would suspect a thing. That stupid boy would be able keep a straight face after that kiss. And yet, as Shampoo watched him work walking among the tables so calmed and focus she wondered if he remember anything at all. Maybe he was too drunk…. maybe it had been all a dream. She bit her lower lip in the middle of her internal discussion, she was having problems deciding if it was a good or a bad thing.

During the day, they kept a god team work coming: she cooked, he served. He would smile sincerely to the customers, she would observed him from behind the bar. At one point, when the clients granted him a brief break, he came to the kitchen to help her with the cooking

"So, we better hurry" he said tiding an apron around his waist "We have lot of people and there´s more coming"

The girl sighed

"Shampoo wanted to see Ranma"

And she saw Mousse become stiff at the sound of that name. He took a deep breath before cutting the onion

"What?" she asked in pretend surprise

"Nothing" he replied drily "I forgot for a moment we agree to keep things normal during work hours"

She put down her knife and vegetables were set aside, then, she walked to stand next to him

"Mousse" she said "Shampoo is marrying Ranma"

The sound of his knife stabbing the wooden cutting board was unimpressive to her but it was a surprise anyways: she expected cries and promises, she expected him to beg and humiliate himself as he would usually do; but none of that came.

"Then why?" he asked quietly

"I…"

"What do you want me to do?"

"It was not…"

He ignored her. His face went hiding on his large sleeves and he was in silence that only a heavy sigh broke… and she twisted her mouth in disapproval

"Don´t ignore me!" she demanded annoyed. He turned himself away from her

"Be quiet, Xian Pu"

"Stupid Duck!" she scolded "Get to work, already!"

And yet, he only moved to sit on the floor, right next to the fridge. Despise every try to ignore it, he could hear the insistent tap of her little feet

"Is no big deal!" she said tired of the whole scene "Get over it, you…"

"GET OVER IT?" he yelled in hurtful surprise and immediately regretted this action. His head found his place back into his own arms

"DON´T YELL AT ME!"

He looked up again. His features reflected pain and heartbreak and, though she felt bad for it, she wondered what he had expected; nothing had change between them... at all.

"Miss" said a client who, at the hearing of yelling, run to the kitchen in worry "Is everything ok?"

Mousse stood up.

"Shampoo is fine" she explained not taking her eyes away from the Chinese boy

"You were the one who came to me last night" he told her before leaving her alone.

 **::::**

* * *

When the sun was setting, he felt remorse of his action of leaving her alone just like that with all the work. But he needed some time alone with his own thoughts, and inside of him he know she did too.

When he came back to the Café he found it closed, even though it was too early for that. He walked to the kitchen and found his beloved girl cleaning it all

"it´s closed"

She stopped her task at the sound of his voice

"Yes" she said as naturally as possible "And Shampoo not opening tomorrow, Shampoo and Mousse need rest"

He quietly watched her as she moved around the place. Always facing away, never looking him at the eyes. He wondered how she managed to stay sane after being left alone with a restaurant flowing with clients. He wondered if he had overreacted, if he really was making a storm where it was barely raining. After all, she seemed to be unmoved by it all.

"About before" he began "I am sorr…"

"Is ok" she interrupted and turned around to face him "Shampoo is fine.."

He said nothing. It made her feel odd

"Mu Tsu?"

"I´ll be fine"

And they cleaned on silence

 **::::**

* * *

The next morning was surrounded with a slightly relaxing feeling for the lack of certain old woman. Mousse woke up as early as always. He put on clothes and he fixed his hair. It was until he reached the bottom of the stairs when he remembered they were not working that day at all.

And he saw her, sitting on a chair, already dressed and her hair perfectly done. In her hands, she hold a cup of tea she slip from time to time

"Good morning" he said catching her attention. She said nothing, but kept looking into the distance

"Do you think we could talk" he asked standing behind her. His voice trembled

"Shampoo is still marrying Ranma" she said coldly.

He felt like being stabbed.

After the life he had lead, always running behind her, always being rejected on his advances, he was surprised how much it still hurt to had his heart, once again, broken by the beautiful amazon he loved with all his being

"I… I suspect as much" he said trying not to break down. His answer made her uncomfortable

"I better get going" she said standing up all of sudden "Got many things to do before seeing Airen this afternoon"

And he watched her walk carelessly to the door.

He wanted to stop her, to beg for a chance to be her. But words failed him, they all seem pretty stupid or demining.

…And he was getting tired of all that.

 **::::**

* * *

If you were to ask Shampoo how her day had been, she would said 'as the usual' except for the fact the nearly blind boy was lacking. That didn´t necessarily meant she missed him, it just meant it was odd not having him around like a freaking parasite.

Even so, she actually enjoyed their neutral time together. He was considerably less annoying when not dragging himself desperately on the floor for her sake.

He was still on her mind when she reached the Neko Hanten. She could hear him on the kitchen, moving around and complaining about misplaced pots. She meant to ignore him but curiosity took the best of her. Leaving the hot bath she was longing for aside, she turned on her heels and walked to where he was and found him putting away a pan

"cooked something?"

He jumped slightly at the sound of her voice; He was so immersed on his own thoughts he didn't even heard her coming

"Well, I got hungry" he explained "If you want some, I just put it away on the fridge" but she shook her head in silence. She could see his distress as he returned to his task. She never saw anyone clean a kitchen with such emotion. It was almost comical

"You still want to talk?"

"I thought you had set the record straight…"

"Yes" she cut him off "But…" and she stopped herself to think her words and reasoning better

"I suppose I own this to you" she said shrugging and he turned around to see her

She said nothing. She couldn´t find the right words to justify her actions. She felt like smiling while looking at his face trying so hard to be stern even when it was pointless. She knew him since they were toddlers, she knew he always wore his emotions at his sleeve.

"So…" she began feeling incredibly awkward

"I have love you since forever" he said a little irritated

"yes… I kno…"

"I´d always been true to you…" he was being serious. He was looking her directly in the eyes as he said this words, not crying, not begging, not even yelling them as the whinny child she often perceived him as. This was the moment when she realized how serious it was starting get.

"That was your own decision!" she exclaimed crossing her arms above the chest in an attempt of changing the mood "You could have challenge another girl and live your life"

"I don´t want a life away from you…"

"Stop this!" she said raising her voice "I cannot love you!"

And then she interpreted his silence as defeat. He hung down his head and fought the urge of cleaning off his sprouting tears with his sleeve. The girl turn around to leave him alone on the kitchen

"Then why?" she stopped at this question

"You should forget that"

"No"

She walked back to where he was. Standing in front of him, she looked up to see his eyes.

"You are way too emotional!" she said pouting tiredly. He took her by the sleeve, afraid, she tried to leave again without giving the answer he needed and that most likely would broke his heart even further

"Why?" he asked again not daring to rise his gaze. She stood still and in silence for about a minute

"I don´t know"

"Don´t…"

"Is true!" she defend herself "I don´t know! You were drunk and… there…"

"You thought I won´t remember…"

"I hoped you wouldn´t" she said blatantly as she noticed the grab on her sleeve becoming stronger. He sighed painfully

"Xian Pu, you can´t just kiss me and expect I would not make a big deal of it!" he exclaimed and his voice was deep and sad "This is me we´re talking about…"

He chuckled. She did showed emotion

"Mousse is expecting too much" she changed to Japanese "Shampoo can only love Ranma! He is better warrior and better husband for Sham…"

"STOP IT!" he yelled breaking down "JUST STOP WITH ALL THE RANMA TALKING! I AM SICK OF SEEING YOU DEMINING YOURSELF TRYING TO WIN HIS HEART!" she was looking at him with cold eyes, but at the moment he couldn´t care less

"I love you" he said gasping to repress a sob "I will go to hell and back just for your sake…Damn it, Things were working up great!"

And she agreed with him. She had messed it up and own him something. Putting her arms around his waist she rested her head on his chest and allowed him to take her small figure on his arms, though, he was hesitant at first

"I am sorry, I don´t know what happened to me" she wasn´t lying, she recalled the thrill she felt, but never the reasoning behind her actions "I suppose I was curious… I just… I wanted to know…"

"Know what?" he asked with his head buried on her hair. She took a step back and look up to see him. The disappointment of losing her embrace was more than evident. Losing her better judgement again, she grab him by the front fabric of his robe and in tip toes she tries to reach for him… he dragged himself down. When their noses were touching and their lips brushing against one another. He talked quietly

"I do love you, but please…"

And she threw away all she knew about themselves and closed the distance between them.

 **::::**

* * *

The old ghoul was to come back the very next morning shortly after the sunrise. By that time, the restaurant must have been ready to be opened. Both teens agreed they would not tell her about staying close the previous day. They also agreed they would not tell a soul about that kiss, but, he was allowed to bring it up when they were alone with no witnesses around.

This part of the deal was hard to accept for poor love-strucked Mousse. He was so excited and surprised by his beloved´s actions the night before, he could barely sleep after she called the night. God! how confusing were the thoughts on his head and how delicious the pain he felt on his chest! He could not read clearly into her! Did this meant she was becoming attached for him? Or maybe he had become a toy for her to play with. He knew the latter was the most plausible answer, and yet he didn´t care that much.

That night, she had come to him and he was allowed to express her how he felt through a kiss for he was sober this time. His body trembled at the separation (when it came) and he smiled when he notice her fast pacing breath. And so they go on separate ways, to their rooms, to sleep till the next day.

When morning finally came, he walked down the stairs and went to meet her at the kitchen. The tables were to be set and the food to be prepared, but she lied against the bar, holding a hot cup of tea in her delicate hands.

"Good morning" she greet in Japanese with a smirk. He smiled and waved at her

"Hello, Shampoo"

"Did Mousse sleep well?"

He could not find the right words to express all the emotion that kept him awake so he just nodded scratching the back of his head

"Good" said the girl. She look up to see the clock that announced the time in the wall in front of her. She left the cup alone and went to the prepare the pots and pans, to set then all ready for the new day that was to start soon. she was setting the cutting boards when she felt his arms around her waist bringing her back closer to his chest. His head was resting on hers

"Mousse?"

"Hmm" hummed the boy

"Wha..what is Mousse doing?"

He didn´t answer, he hugged tighter and said nothing at all.

"Great Grandmother may come in any minute" she remind him on Chinese

"I´ll take the risk"

She rolled her eyes and hit him lightly with her elbow. He let a light gasp out and stepped back. She turned around to meet his eyes

"Stupid Mousse!" she was slightly angry "If great grandmother catches us…"

She didn´t finish the sentence for, in a moment of self-confidence and bravery his lips met hers. It was a quick kiss, he stepped back before she could react violently and smiled in victory when she did not attempt to hurt him. And so, she dared to take the risk again and stepping forward he hesitant took her face on his hand

"stupid du…"

The sound of a person entering by the front door startled them and suddenly they broke apart running each to the opposite side of the room.

"Good morning, Great granddaughter" greeted old Cologne entering the kitchen "Good Morning, Mousse"

A 'welcome back' form the girl and a nod from the boy were the answers she got, and she noticed a slight disconformity on her great granddaughter

"Is he bothering you again, Shampoo?"

The girl look him above her shoulder, her mouth twisted in a thinking fashion

"yes" she said dead pan serious

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT? I WASN´T BOTHERING HER!" the duck boy was fast to defend himself in his loud, obnoxious ways. The girl rolled her eyes before sending him a cold glance to which he responded accordingly

"Mousse is being annoying" she said and before he could defend his case, he got a hit with a walking stick on the head

"Stop that, boy!" scolded the old woman "will you ever change"

He did not replied directly, he only muttered not so pleasant things under his breath.

"And Hush with that!" scolded the old mummy as he called her.

"How trip went?" asked the girl with her cutest smile

"Good, my girl, How is Son-in-law?" replied her getting a little box out of her traveling bag

"Airen is fine" said Shampoo dubious "Did people asked?"

"No" was the simple answer, and then she was mixing the box content with other thing she brought back with her

"What is that, great grandmother?"

"Shampoo, go upstairs and wear the finest dress you have, if everything goes according to plan, Ranma will be yours by tomorrow morning"

"What?" exclaimed Mousse surprised and Shampoo turn around to make him quiet, but as soon as her eyes met his frame, she couldn't find the right words, for she knew there was nothing valid she could said to mingle his pain, and besides, she felt a little guilty inside. But Great Grandmother could have never known that. And later she smiled, childishly and wide: she jumped and clapped and thanked the old woman before running up to her room. She ignore the best she could the voice of her ever faithful duck calling

"A fine bride she´ll make" commented Cologne with a little smile. Mousse sat sadly on the kitchen´s floor, head down

"And You!" called him the woman "You better stay out of this! It should work this time"

 **::::**

* * *

Better say it didn´t work.

But it wasn´t Mousse fault at all. At the end the one who stopped Cologne´s new plan was Ryoga… by accident… while he tried to get Ranma into a fight.

Ranma never knew why Shampoo was so upset. He told her it was fine, she could bring him another dinner plate later. He didn´t knew that one had been adulterated, he didn´t knew both Chinese women had use in it all of that golden dust Cologne brought back from China.

Stomping and cursing Ryoga all the way home, she entered the Neko Hanten abruptly, her face alone scared the last client out and after he left she slammed the door closed and the restaurant

"I get we failed…" said the old woman as Shampoo walked towards her

"Is not fair!" she cried stomping in tantrum as her knuckles turned white "It´s always something! Why can airen love Shampoo?" fat tears fell down her cheeks and she great grandmother offered her the most caring comfort she could offer. After a moment, the girl dried out her tears and rose up her head.

"Where is dumb duck?" she asked looking around

"Same as always" said Cologne hanging her a cage´s key

 **::::**

* * *

"So it didn´t work" stated Mousse trying to hide his relief, for her sake

"Stupid Pig ruined it!"

"Ryoga? Why? You will think he´d wanted Ranma to…"

"It was an stupid accident" said the girl with shaking shoulders "Shampoo told nothing, acted normally, he suspected nothing…"

Mousse kneel to be at her eye level. Stroking her hair and putting it behind her ear, he offer some well-intentioned comfort, despite he was celebrating on the inside

"maybe it never works because is not real…"

"Stupid Mousse!" she said pushing his hand away "Airen…"

"Why do you even keep going after him?" sadness written all over his face. Her own features softened

"I am still marrying Ranma" she said in Chinese looking him straight on the eye

"I love you" he declared once again, like he did every day. Her answer was to simple lower her head. He took her in his arms, again unsure, the whole affair seemed too surreal for him to fully understand it was real, when she relaxed and buried her face on his chest as she sobbed, he understood it was all real, the hug, this morning´s kiss and the previous, they all have been real. He felt happy for a minute, but this didn´t last long. He start wondering what did that meant, how will it affect his life… their life, and most importantly, how does she felt about him?

"You should leave" said the girl weeping out the tears "Great Grandmother may come in soon".

Going against his own desires, he walk away and exited her room.

 **::::**

* * *

Things came back to normal after the fiasco, they never spoke of the whole kiss affair after that, they return to their mindless movie talks, to their teasing and their strange agreement…except for little subtle details that were driving Mousse berserk. During the late movie nights, she seemed to search for him, to bring him closer to her body. Many times she fell asleep on his shoulder. She would be less cruel and more compassionate, even with the old woman around.

He blame it on guilt and try not to read too much into it. Yet, he wanted it to mean something more, but was too afraid to ask, he was afraid of the answer. So he search or an alternative way.

He choose a day when Shampoo would have to deliver food to the Tendo house, he needed Ranma there and the old woman away.

Before she left, he came with a small box on his hands

"You forgot the sauce" he offer casually and as she took it, he stuck something on her clothes without her noticing. Her gaze became dark and she looked at him with ice cold eyes, full of hate, and she was off. He smiled in hope and followed her.

When he reached the Akane´s house, he waited a moment before getting her attention, he wanted to know how will she act around Ranma.

I was predictable, she was cold and unchatty. Even after her so called fiancé asked her if everything was all right

"Nothing wrong with Shampoo" she replied uninterested "Have a lot of work to do!"

Ranma blinked twice

"Are you sure? you seem…"

This was Mousses cue

"Shampoo!" he called her in his very known desperate way "Stay away from Ranma! I Love Y…" he was cut by her with fist on his face… he whine on pain and surprised

"What is Mousse doing here?" she said coldy "Why did he followed Shampoo"

"Well, I…"

"Can´t Mousse understand Shampoo HATES HIM!" and she punch him, kick him and pound him full of range and hate. At some point he was left on the floor painting for air and in pain. At some point his gasps became chuckles and then, they turned into a full meaningful laugh.

"Why is duck boy laughing?" asked the furious amazon as she prepared to strike again but he was quick to act and removed a little green jewel from back her blouse. She stood there confused, remembering her actions and looking around for answers. Smiling, he showed her the "reversal jewel" and her face became as red as the setting sun.

The next thing they all heard was the sound made by her hand slapping him hard across the face.

 **::::**

* * *

He waited patiently for the old ghoul to go to bed. Five minutes after her bed time passed, his beautiful girl entered his room, red with rage.

"Shampoo is not marrying Mousse!" she had trouble keeping her voice down. He just looked at her but said nothing "Ranma defeated Shampoo! He is airen!"

"That can be arranged…"

"You fight Shampoo?"

"I will never hurt you…"

She smirked, ironically and buffed in mockery

"Mousse´s weak" she spit her words "That´s why Shampoo doesn´t love him"

Differently to every other occasion she said that, this time he didn´t felt sad, nor he cried or beg her to acknowledge him. He just stood still looking at her

"The jewel beg to differ" and she slapped him hard

"You idiot!" she switched to her mother language "You stupid, idiotic duck! You weren´t supposed to know!"

Her eyes were wide, full with anger and frustration. Her teeth tight and her face got a slight red coloring. He had seen her angry many times before, but he would never guess she would someday get so mad for a reason that made him so happy.

"Why are you so mad?" he asked "Am I that bad? I am really ruining your life?"

"YES!" she yelled and immediately after she covered her mouth and hope her great grandmother haven´t heard her. She saw him as he sat on the floor, back and head slammed against the wall, and she sat on his bed, fixing her hair, not knowing what to say

"Why?" he asked grimly

"I can´t love you… I am not allowed"

"That´s stupid"

Part of she agreed with him, but she didn´t say a thing on the subject.

"I must marry Ramna" she said after a minute, avoiding his gaze

"But you don´t love him…"

"But I do!" she explained finally meeting his eyes "I do love him"

"You can´t love us both…"

"I know how I feel, Mu Tsu!" she snapped at him "Before this past months I didn´t even knew it was possible and it´s driving me crazy!"

Tears were forming on her eyes. She felt divided, she enjoy every minute they had spent together since that cursed deal of theirs, she loved how he was when he was not chasing her like a desperate weirdo. Though she enjoyed a little every time he was crazy jealous, it made her feel desirable, especially when Ranma seemed so immune to her charms. Even before Japan and this whole mess, Mousse had always been a bust to her self-esteem.

And yet, every moment spent with him made her feel like a traitor. Every time they discussed a movie, every shared thought… every hug he gave her and every kiss they stole from each other in the shadows put a weight on her heart, no matter how much she enjoyed them or how much she loved him.

"Me too" he exclaimed suddenly

"Huh?"

"Is driving me crazy too"

"You had always been crazy" she crossed her arms childishly pretending to be annoyed. He stood up and went to sit on his bed with her

"We are a mess" she said lowly caressing her hair

"This is all your fault" she whispered relaxing, he dragged her into his arms

"You love me" he stated and she saw no reason to deny it any longer, he already knew. Then, he reached down to kiss her, she welcomed the gesture gladly. After a while, she decided he didn´t want to let go of him, after all, she was strong, she could deal with a little extra weight on her heart.

"When is the old ghoul leaving again?" he asked when they separate for air

"Not anytime soon" replied her still brushing her lips against his.

 **::::**

* * *

As the morning passed, Shampoo noticed how much she enjoyed they little façade; how well they could pretend the same old dynamics they been having since she came to japan to chase Ranma. And how they would both relax when alone. They have learn to switch between mood and behavior so well and they were both enjoying the whole game.

In other manner, he was still incredibly clingy even when they were alone, but in a different way. especially when he had a chance to hug her: his moments were quick and rare for they were almost never alone, but he treasure them gladly… even if technically nothing had change in the relationship

 **::::**

* * *

"Treasure hunt race?" asked the amazon with big confused eyes

"I read about it on this pamphlet" answered the ever sweet Kasumi Tendo. Her ever present smile rested gracefully on her lips. The rest of her family watched her explain inside the Chinese restaurant

"Sounds boring" commented Ranma waiting for his food.

"The first place is a travel to wherever the winner wants" said Nabiki reading the pamphlet and, as it had been a buzzing alarm that woke them all up, all the cursed ones start making plans: How would they win? Which strategy should be better? How to get rid of competition?

It was all set and won in each and every head

"oh" exclaimed unemotionally the middle Tendo girl "It has to be on pairs"

And silence fell before the next argument

"Airen is taking Shampoo, yes?" said she as she threw herself into the young piggy-tailed boy´s arms. He complained and tried without effort to keep her off him. When his struggles result in nothing, he turned his head to see a very upset Akane watching them with murderous eyes, and yet, she didn´t brought the mallet out of punch his face out of town.

"Well, if that´s so" said the short haired girl turning her head from them "I´ll take Mousse"

The boy jumped on surprised and his eyes opened in surprised as Akane reached for his arm. She found nothing to hold on: a whole bucket of ice cold water splashed the unsuspected boy. A white noisy complaining duck was the only thing she could find.

"Sorry, violent girl" said Shampoo with an innocent smile "Mousse can´t go… he grounded"

 **::::**

* * *

Shampoo and her Great Grandmother chopped fast and perfectly. Saturday was coming and it was a busy day. They should had as much as they could ready ahead of time. Knives sliced vegetables and mushrooms in a fast pace and meat had been put under defrosting for them to use on tomorrows noodles.

They worked on silence. Only the tapping sound of the knives against the boards was heard on the place. The night was calmed outside and it´s characteristically sounds surround the place with a relaxing feeling. They were both tired, but worked eagerly for they knew a job well done was more than satisfactory.

Shampoo sliced and chopped as her mind wandered. The situation she was in made her feel like a traitor. She knew Ranma was the man of her life, she knew he was the best one for her, he was strong and fast. He was handsome and healthy too. But he was disloyal.

Since the moment he knew he was to marry her, he´s been avoiding his imminent fate. And he surrounded himself with other women, all merely nuisance for him, Shampoo conclude, but that didn´t erased them from his life and it made her feel sad and disappointed, she grew up thinking anyone would like to have her as bride. How many times she slid into his bathtub… into his bed, and it worked for nothing?

Stupid Ranma, Shall he be cursed! Of all men in Asia she had to get the one immune to her! She hated his guts, she hated the way he walked around with that Tendo girl, how he was always listening to her, how he got angry when someone flirted with her… how she looked at her when he thought no one was paying attention…

Ranma was disloyal and for that had no honor.

She continued chopping in anger and jealousy, and as she did, she recalled her last getaway. She recalled dragging Mousse into a dark corner and letting him kiss her and hold her like his life depended on it. She remember last night, and many others before, when they stayed up late talking about stupidities or watching a movie, or playing a harmless game. She recalled the green brooch he got her last week when he returned from the market place. She remember she is been wearing it since.

All these memories and the feelings they evoked on her made her extremely frustrated. This was never supposed to happen.

"Great-Grandmother?" she asked hiding the tremor of her voice

"What is it?"

"What if…" she started and cut herself off to thing better her words "What if Shampoo can get Airen?"

The old woman left the knife forgotten and turned to see the pretty girl with tender, compassionate eyes

"Do not fear, my child. Ranma will come around! Just wait and see, he´ll be yours" and so she returned to work. The girl stayed on her place; that wasn´t exactly the answered she was looking for

"What does…" she asked again after taking a deep breath "What does law say about polygamy?"

A crashing sound was heard outside the kitchen. The duck boy was standing at the door, teapots and bowls reduced to pieces on the floor. He was static and absent, like he had been hit by a lighting

"Put your glasses on!" scolded the old woman hitting him on the head with her staff before returning to her vegetables. The young warrior seek for his beloved gaze still stunned for what he just heard.

 **::::**

* * *

"Polygamy?"

"It´s the only way!"

"No"

"But Mu Tsu"

"No, I won´t share with Saotome!"

"Argg, you are so selfish!"

The boy took his glasses of and passed his hands over his face and hair on frustration as the girl turned her back at him

"It´s the only way we can be together" she tried to defend her case "Think about it! You can´t defeat Ranma, you won´t fight me…"

"And that´s the solution you offer?" he asked irritated. She should have known he will never agree to this

"I doesn´t matter anyway" she said crossing her arms above the chest "the law wouldn´t allow it"

And he laughed. Nervously and for the sake of irony, but he did laughed. Would she ever change? Would they ever be allowed to be just a couple of teenagers living normal lives?

At this point he had figure out the life back on the tribe was out of question if he… if they, ever wanted to stay together: He would not do what the law require him to do, she would never let go of Ranma completely, perhaps. But that didn't mean that could not aspire to a happy life far away from them all. The problem there was, she had her customs and traditions scared into her soul and mind, and even when he was sometimes against them, so did he.

"What did Cologne said when you told her?"

"Told her what?"

"I guessed she asked why you wanted more than one husband…"

"she didn´t asked" said the girl "she was emotionless when she explain why she wouldn't do it, but, she never asked"

He nodded softly as he hold tight the cup on his hands and he stared at the tea as it had the answer to an old riddle

"Did you really considered…?"

"She did know, though" interrupted Shampoo sipping on her tea. This made him forget whatever he wanted to say before and only could look at her in a comical mix of fright and confusion

"What?"

"After she was sure she had explained it all she whispered your name under her breath"

"My name?"

" ´ _That idiotic duck_ ´ she said" explained her unceremoniously

"That´s not my name, Xian Pu" he stated smiling. Her answer was a gesture with her hand telling him not to mind it.

"So now what?" he asked looking at her directly in a low, soft voice

She had already thought about it, every night after expending time together, every morning when he dropped hot noodles bowls because he was too stubborn to wear his glasses. She wondered a lot about the future, actually. She wondered about it when Ranma came to pick up food, or when they, all together as a gang, had to deal with some strange and dreadful foe; then she wondered about the days to come and if she would even be alive to see them. She wondered about her stupid duck and how things much things had changed between them after some time.

Part of her wanted it to work! She wanted them and whatever this thing they had was to work and live without worries. He would make a good husband after all! He would be forever loyal, there was no doubt of that! But, how about her?

"I don´t know" she answered his question and then, they remained silent.

 **::::**

* * *

 **::::**

 **The ambiguous End**

 **::::**

* * *

I tried (I always do) to keep it all flowelry and sunshine but I realize I couldn´t do it. I didn´t felt right for them or for the story. So I guess it ended up being bittersweet.

Now that I mention that, I should said I had about 85% of the chapter written when I post the previous one an eternity ago, but whenever I was to write the ending nothing felt quite right. I figured that if a situation like this were to happen, they couldn´t go from 0 to 100 in a day: it had to be slow because these things take time.

I unwillingly end up focusing a lot on Shampoo´s inner confusion, and in the end it worked for what I wanted to say: she would not leave Ranma just like that, she would struggle because feeling something for someone new, doesn´t necessarily cancel what you felt before for someone else, and to add to her confusion and uncertanity, I tried to show that Mousse was maturing: I wanted him to put a stop to his own denigrating ways but I didn´t want him to be rude to her or hurt her because that´s not him.

So here they are still changing, that´s why the ending is so uncertain. I leave it up to you to decide whatever their relationship works or not (personally, I would love it to work).

I hope I had express my ideas clearly (in both story and notes) and I hope you had enjoyed it. I know is not exactly a proper ending, but then again, they are just at the start.

Thank you


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